My wife was involved in a minor fender-bender yesterday. A couple of kids (both about 22 years old) sped through a red light at an intersection and clipped her front bumper. Nobody was hurt. They got out and the driver and passenger admitted they ran the red light. The driver said his mom was going to be furious because it was her car, then offered my wife a bunch of money to forget the whole thing. (It was a roll of cash, so no idea how much it was.)

My wife called, told me what happened and I told her to call the police just to be on the safe side. I drove up to sit with her since she was close. (She had 2 of our kids in the car as well.) About 30 minutes later, the drivers' Mom showed up. Then a bunch of his homies showed up, so I was getting a little nervous since I just had a 10-shot magazine with me. Finally, the cops came, took our statements and left. And the driver and passenger? They lied. They said my wife ran a red light and hit them.

I noticed there were cameras on the traffic lights. We told our insurance agent about them. Who knows if they were on. I'm guessing what will happen is our insurance (Allstate) will pay for our car, their insurance (Geico) will pay for theirs and that will be that.

My wife was involved in a minor fender-bender yesterday. A couple of kids (both about 22 years old) sped through a red light at an intersection and clipped her front bumper. Nobody was hurt. They got out and the driver and passenger admitted they ran the red light. The driver said his mom was going to be furious because it was her car, then offered my wife a bunch of money to forget the whole thing. (It was a roll of cash, so no idea how much it was.)

My wife called, told me what happened and I told her to call the police just to be on the safe side. I drove up to sit with her since she was close. (She had 2 of our kids in the car as well.) About 30 minutes later, the drivers' Mom showed up. Then a bunch of his homies showed up, so I was getting a little nervous since I just had a 10-shot magazine with me. Finally, the cops came, took our statements and left. And the driver and passenger? They lied. They said my wife ran a red light and hit them.

I noticed there were cameras on the traffic lights. We told our insurance agent about them. Who knows if they were on. I'm guessing what will happen is our insurance (Allstate) will pay for our car, their insurance (Geico) will pay for theirs and that will be that.

Thoughts? Suggestions? Recommendations?

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I'm sure it was your wife's fault, since she was clearly Driving While Female.

My wife was involved in a minor fender-bender yesterday. A couple of kids (both about 22 years old) sped through a red light at an intersection and clipped her front bumper. Nobody was hurt. They got out and the driver and passenger admitted they ran the red light. The driver said his mom was going to be furious because it was her car, then offered my wife a bunch of money to forget the whole thing. (It was a roll of cash, so no idea how much it was.)

My wife called, told me what happened and I told her to call the police just to be on the safe side. I drove up to sit with her since she was close. (She had 2 of our kids in the car as well.) About 30 minutes later, the drivers' Mom showed up. Then a bunch of his homies showed up, so I was getting a little nervous since I just had a 10-shot magazine with me. Finally, the cops came, took our statements and left. And the driver and passenger? They lied. They said my wife ran a red light and hit them.

I noticed there were cameras on the traffic lights. We told our insurance agent about them. Who knows if they were on. I'm guessing what will happen is our insurance (Allstate) will pay for our car, their insurance (Geico) will pay for theirs and that will be that.

Thoughts? Suggestions? Recommendations?

Click to expand...

Filing a false police report is a crime. Therefore, you were smart to mention the cameras. Secondly, be ready to get a lawyer. Also many modern cars have 'blackbox' like recorders for speed, break application and the like. It can tell if breaks were applied and speed it was going at the least. If they see acceleration just before impact, it's an indicator that they ran the red light in an effort to beat the yellow. Also, if there were stores in the area, ask the police to check their outside cameras as well. That's the best I got for you for now.

With no witnesses it will be word vs word. It is doubftful that instersectional cameras will be checked, but it is worth a call to the police station to see if it can be done and the report amended.

If it's a corner-to-corner impact, that it will make it even tougher. If your car has more side damage and theirs has front-end damage, that would be a plus for you.

Good luck.

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Yep. It's corner to corner. As my wife was turning onto the main road (left turn), the guy sped through and clipped her right-front bumper with his left-rear bumper. I guess he thought he could make it through in time. With no witnesses, there's no way to tell who caused it. I'm hoping the cameras were working. It's in the hands of the insurance company now.

With no witnesses it will be word vs word. It is doubftful that instersectional cameras will be checked, but it is worth a call to the police station to see if it can be done and the report amended.

If it's a corner-to-corner impact, that it will make it even tougher. If your car has more side damage and theirs has front-end damage, that would be a plus for you.

Good luck.

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Yep. It's corner to corner. As my wife was turning onto the main road (left turn), the guy sped through and clipped her right-front bumper with his left-rear bumper. I guess he thought he could make it through in time. With no witnesses, there's no way to tell who caused it. I'm hoping the cameras were working. It's in the hands of the insurance company now.

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Credibility is also a factor. Have your wife document everything that happened for your records - including the offer of a bribe. There's also the small claims court option. Such judges are pretty good at identifying who the liar is. I bet the kid will look like a big creep on the witness stand.

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